Simo
Commercial User
- May 26, 2006
- 289
- 462
- Disclosures
- Luthier/Owner at Simnett Guitars
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5 string fretless showcase: Habanero V
- Thread starter adam.beauchene
- Start date
Looks great! One question though: it looks like the outer surface of your outer veneers are fresh off a resaw. Is that right, and if so, what's the reasoning behind it?
They are, I made all the veneers myself. I don't have a thickness sander, and that cocobolo is really fragile when it's that thin, so I'm going to sand a tiny bit it in place, then hit it with the cabinet scraper. That will be toward the end though, prob the last step before drilling for tuning machines.
Edit: I see what you're saying, I think. Next time I'll make a nice surface on the stock I'm resawing from, then slice off the last veneer.
I'm a long-time fretless player and I just looked through every post of this thread. This is a beautiful piece of work, Mr. Barnacle, and I think I speak on behalf of the whole platoon when I say let's see her done and hear what she sounds like.
Well done so far and it looks like a damn fine tone machine to be.
Well done so far and it looks like a damn fine tone machine to be.
Been busy the last couple days... got these off craigslist-
The router table looks like it was used once, and that clamp has never been used. I see a new workbench built around it in the very near future.
And on my way home, saw a sign for a place called Guitar Doctor in Whitman, MA, stopped to check it out and met some pretty cool folks. Talked shop for a little bit, checked out a couple cool customs, and Doc himself gave me this beauty:
A 1947 Sears and Roebuck scroll saw, 18" throat. The motor (not seen here) is shot, but the saw itself feels silky smooth. I think this will be my main body-cutting tool, but it will be a while.
Back on topic, got a little done today:
Back is gluing up now. Tomorrow, rounding over a body!
The router table looks like it was used once, and that clamp has never been used. I see a new workbench built around it in the very near future.
And on my way home, saw a sign for a place called Guitar Doctor in Whitman, MA, stopped to check it out and met some pretty cool folks. Talked shop for a little bit, checked out a couple cool customs, and Doc himself gave me this beauty:
A 1947 Sears and Roebuck scroll saw, 18" throat. The motor (not seen here) is shot, but the saw itself feels silky smooth. I think this will be my main body-cutting tool, but it will be a while.
Back on topic, got a little done today:
Back is gluing up now. Tomorrow, rounding over a body!
Drake Custom
Commercial User
- Aug 24, 2010
- 440
- 1,083
- Disclosures
- Builder/Owner:Drake Custom Bass Guitars
The bass looks great. I love the wood combo. Great build so far. I myself don't have the patience to hand cut the cavity covers out anymore. It is way cool to have the cavity cover match the body though. Well done.
Thanks Drake, it was a bit of a pain, but I like the look. Hopefully my new (old) scroll saw will help make that process a bit easier and accurate next time.
A little work done today. Here's what I found under some clamps:
Fresh off the router table:
After a little random orbit lovin':
I don't know how I've managed without a router table. I'm spoiled now. I had to use it with the fence pushed way back to get to the inside curves, though. It was a little intimidating staring at that 1/2" roundover bit, whizzing along at 15,000 RPM or so. Gotta respect this tool.
A little work done today. Here's what I found under some clamps:
Fresh off the router table:
After a little random orbit lovin':
I don't know how I've managed without a router table. I'm spoiled now. I had to use it with the fence pushed way back to get to the inside curves, though. It was a little intimidating staring at that 1/2" roundover bit, whizzing along at 15,000 RPM or so. Gotta respect this tool.
I love the juxtaposition of the Cocobolo, the maple, and the Mahogany. Real nice, especially after the rounding over.
Oh, and how much did you get that router table for? I'm jealous, the thing looks like a beaut, and seems to be in pristine condition.
It's the Rockler package 1 table with the correct plate for my Bosch router, with what looks like a very nicely-homemade stand, the end-grain sled, a bunch of featherboards, a push block, and a brand-new Jorgenson bench vice, 140 bucks total. The guy was moving into the city, no room for a shop, I felt bad for him. Those tools will be well-used though
I had been cruising CL for a router table for 2 months, so I was ready to jump on this when it popped up. I saw another one, the Bench Dog benchtop model, but the guy wanted to sell it with the router and it was out of my budget.
It's the Rockler package 1 table with the correct plate for my Bosch router, with what looks like a very nicely-homemade stand, the end-grain sled, a bunch of featherboards, a push block, and a brand-new Jorgenson bench vice, 140 bucks total. The guy was moving into the city, no room for a shop, I felt bad for him. Those tools will be well-used though
You lucky dog...
You're in SD? I just left there. SD CL has some pretty amazing finds, too, especially if you like bicycles, as my garage can attest. Gotta be quick out there, though.
Yeah, it's a dog-eat-dog city as far as good merchandise goes. But, I did get one nice find: a mid-'90s Fender Bassman 150 combo amp, 120 watt, for $170...but I can't find very much good bass gear. Every once in a while, though, a good find will pop up. I'm looking for a band saw right now, and hopefully I can find that guy who's moving downtown and selling all of his shop tools.
Things have been slow since my last tool acquisition...cut into my bass parts money quite a bit. While I wait for my bridge, though, a couple updates.
Shaped the headstock some more, pretty close to what it's gonna be:
Routed the electronics cavity:
You can see a little hiccup, where the pattern bit's collar came loose, the bearing moved, and the bit went a little deep. No problem though, that's where the pickup wire will come through anyway, it just means I have to drill less.
Next I thinned the cover a bit and epoxied it to a piece of blank circuit board. Figured that would keep the coco from warping or changing shape, and the copper layer means I don't have to worry about using up my copper foil for shielding.
Next I got out my woodburning iron and set out to binding the cover with a thin strip of ziricote. I wanted a pinstripe line around the cover, for an accent and also to fill the blade kerf. I wet the corner of a rag, lay it on the ziricote, then hit it with the iron while i gently bent it. Broke it a couple of times. It looks kind of nasty...
...but the end results are OK. I hit the cover with the random orbir sander, and began fitting it to the cavity:
I go back and forth between shaping the cover and the cavity. I tried to make the cavity curves smooth, and keep the binding thickness consistent.
I then filed a little finger divet:
Same on the cover:
And this is how it came out.
Shaped the headstock some more, pretty close to what it's gonna be:
Routed the electronics cavity:
You can see a little hiccup, where the pattern bit's collar came loose, the bearing moved, and the bit went a little deep. No problem though, that's where the pickup wire will come through anyway, it just means I have to drill less.
Next I thinned the cover a bit and epoxied it to a piece of blank circuit board. Figured that would keep the coco from warping or changing shape, and the copper layer means I don't have to worry about using up my copper foil for shielding.
Next I got out my woodburning iron and set out to binding the cover with a thin strip of ziricote. I wanted a pinstripe line around the cover, for an accent and also to fill the blade kerf. I wet the corner of a rag, lay it on the ziricote, then hit it with the iron while i gently bent it. Broke it a couple of times. It looks kind of nasty...
...but the end results are OK. I hit the cover with the random orbir sander, and began fitting it to the cavity:
I go back and forth between shaping the cover and the cavity. I tried to make the cavity curves smooth, and keep the binding thickness consistent.
I then filed a little finger divet:
Same on the cover:
And this is how it came out.
